How a missions display reaches out to pilgrims, seekers.
“Go into all the world… and proclaim
the Gospel”
Much time has passed since the day
Jesus entrusted this mission to his disciples, yet today it remains as relevant
as ever.
Moved by this invitation, frontiers
have been crossed and cultures and nations have been reached. Today there is no
corner of the earth that has not known the proclamation of the Good News.
Friar Francis felt this necessity to
share the Gospel which had transformed his life. Moved by this desire, he left
for the lands of the Middle East and invited his friars to do likewise.
For eight centuries the friars have
continued to announce the beauty of the Gospel, moved by the same desire as
that of Saint Francis. Today they seek to give life to the same passion in
their various missions on six continents, enriching the local churches with the
Franciscan Conventual charism, enabling interaction between the Order’s new and
ancient communities through reciprocal aid, and meeting Christ in the face of
every person.
Even in Assisi, among the various
initiatives of our community, the Franciscanum, we seminarians seek to live out
“the mission.” Our Missionary Center works to promote our Order’s missionary
efforts by educating pilgrims and tourists that pass through our doors, located
on one of the main streets of Assisi.
Using stands, photos, and objects
typical of various cultures we seek to present our missions and collect funds
for their operation. But beyond this activity we are involved in another effort,
just as important, directly tied to supporting missions. It’s what we call,
“missionary listening.” We want to truly meet the needs of those who enter our missionary
display and who ask for information about the missions, about the organization
of our Order, and about our identity as consecrated religious brothers. We
listen to them express their doubts and talk about their daily lives. They ask
only to be listened to.
One rainy day this winter when no
one was on the streets of Assisi, we received a young woman who, in telling us
about her life, expressed a desire to offer her medical training in the mission-field
to serve those who do not have adequate medical care. In this way, we allowed
the Gospel to continue its work, offering meaning to someone who at the moment
was having difficulty making sense of her life.
When we have moments like the one
mentioned above (and there are many) we realize that in reality we are not that
far away from the activity that our confreres carry out on the mission-field;
we find ourselves interacting with strangers who immediately become friends,
people from all parts of Italy and the globe who, following a route opposite to
that of a traditional missionary, come to us. Many are attracted by the simplicity
unique to Saint Francis and his friars, which is enough to make us stand out
from everything that surrounds daily life. These are people thirsty for truth,
for justice, for peace, but especially for God. They see us as “sign” of his presence
in the world and feel the need to find in our lifestyle, in our Franciscan charism,
an appeal to a different and better reality than the apathy and indifference common
in our modern culture.
Being a missionary just by remaining
where we are and waiting for pilgrims, shows that mission is about much more
than the physical movement of “going.” The patron saint of missions, Theresa of
Lisieux, lived out this reality. The Carmelite nun was obedient to her mission
by remaining in the small cloister of her French convent.
This is the account, not so much of
what we do, but of what we are (because one does what one is). And we are
content to be able to be “missionary listeners,” witnesses for the Gospel,
witnesses of Love.
Fr. Rocco Predoti
Fr. Anton Giulio Vacanti
